Alive Once More
by Midnight1234
Summary: Arthur has been destined to return. So destiny kept Merlin alive to await his king. But even as Arthur returns, his memories of kinghood were gone. Can the king be convinced, or will impending doom take him once again? Modern AU


**Hiya! I haven't written a Merlin fic in a long time but I have decided to once again write one even though I have many stories that wish to be updated but who cares. This is a modern AU so I hope you like it! Arthur will be in the next chapter too! My friend made the summary for me by the way! Please leave a review, favorite, and follow! Farewell and Enjoy!**

**-Let there be midnight**

**Me No Own Merlin**

* * *

_**Alive Once More**_

**Just One Glance**

Over years his complexion had barely changed, his face staying but only maybe a day older from when it used to be. Yet he wasn't the same. His blue eyes that were once so bright with the joy of life had dulled down as the years flew by. His mind grew and wizened, but his physical appearance stayed the same. He smiled less than he used to, he only smiled when he couldn't keep it in.

He wandered around England as the lands started to change over time, for where was he going to stay? He knew very little people, if not none for there was no reason to, they would all die in the end leaving him all alone. Even though the world around him shifted and changed, grew and became more wide, wars fighting and ending, people dying and aging, it was all happening around him, as if he was the center of it but he tried to pay no mind to it.

People now in days had a closed off mind towards magic, few even believing that it exists and placing it in the category like dragons and unicorns, though he knew all of those had once lived, only to die like the rest. He didn't get angry not once, yes he got frustrated at times but it had never resorted to anger, but he did get deeply saddened as his mind wandered off to the time when he was truly young and had friends who he thought he were to die with. How much of a lie that was. They all died too soon for his liking and he has yet to join.

He wandered the streets of London, hands in his pockets as he huddled further into himself for the warmth against the chilly November day, burying his nose into the depths of his coat as his gloved hands reached for his hat and pulled it down to cover his large ears from the biting cold. His dull blue eyes searched the crowd swimming among him like they always did, searching for the one he had spent most of his life looking for. But like always, he was left with deep disappointment as he had yet to see blonde hair and blue eyes when he had already reached his apartment. Who was he kidding? The man he was searching for might not even look the same. Instead of blonde hair he could have ginger hair and instead of blue eyes he could have brown. He could be totally different from the one he might've known, like, he could be shorter and slim, weak and shy, heck! He could be a girl for all he knew!

He closed his apartment door behind him, taking off his gloves and setting them on an end table on the wall next to him, followed by his hat, coat, and shoes. He was soon left in his long sleeved red shirt and tattered blue jeans with white socks that needed a good washing. He went to his bookcase and skimmed through the books that would have historians falling at his feet to own and museums begging him to give. But he would not hand them over a single book for every book on this shelf was far too precious to him more than anything. His beloved mentor had once owned these books on the shelves; they were once scattered among the floor and newer than they were now. Pages were barely hanging on and words were hard to read, but he kept them anyway for the smell they seemed to keep and the memories they brought to him.

One of his rare smiles slipped on his face as he let his fingers skim across the spines of the books, feeling the familiar rough texture he was oh so used to feeling in his younger days. His eyes went to a book he knew all too well, the contents memorized as if he knew it practically his whole life. It was the book he first learned his magic, the book his beloved mentor had given him, the book that he felt had started it all. It was his most treasured book he tried to keep in good condition, better than the rest but old age still had gotten to her pages.

Gently, as if the book was fragile, he slipped it from between two slimmer books and opened her, hand running through the delicate pages with pictures and print he had fallen in love with. He inhaled deeply the old smell she had within her, picturing the old room he once had slept in and where she was hidden beneath floorboards and was often, more than he would have liked, almost found by guards looking for witches and wizards.

His eyes scanned the letters he had long since memorized, feeling at home with the book as a smile once more slipped onto his face. A few seconds later, once he had finished reading about a spell to heal, he closed her gently listening to the soft 'plop' the pages made when they closed and pressed against each other, gently squeezing her back into place between a book about herbs and a book about a history of potions. He gazed longingly at her before he tore his eyes away from her, moving to his couch to gaze out the window.

He didn't know how long he sat there, looking at the people below him before he felt his eyes widen and his breath hitch, hands coiling at his sides as he tensed. In a crowd below he had found the one he had looked for since long ago. Blonde hair that was the same but styled up in the front, blue eyes that had the same sparkle he was so familiar with, and the smile he yearned to see since he had left him. He was amongst friends that looked to be his age, two brown haired boys and one auburn haired. They seemed to laugh at a joke one of the brown haired boys said, but he ignored it as he stared at the one he missed, a whisper breathed between his slightly parted lips before he bolted out of his apartment, barely managing to get on his shoes and coat before he flung open the door and hurdled down to the crowded streets he had been on only minutes ago.

"_Arthur!_"

The apartment was empty as the door was heard slamming behind the old boy who had excitement coursing through him once more like in the old days.

Finally! His search has reached an end!


End file.
